(from page 31)
These shedding tapes must be baked in a special oven at 130° ± 5° for 8 hours. (Incubator type ovens are best as gas fired ovens impart moisture into the tape and are not as stable and accurate at keeping constant temperature.) This baking process stabilizes the tape binder for short term periods of about 1 month. 130° is a pretty low temperature so don't worry about melting plastic reels etc.. It's a good idea to use a thermometer that's accurate in this temperature range because most oven dials will probably be off a few degrees. Also, let the oven's temperature stabilize for 30 minutes before baking your tapes. After baking, it is critical to allow a 24 hour room-temperature cool down period so the binder will set. Playing tapes right out of the oven can wipe oxides right off the mylar!
Some tapes will require two baking treatments before use , so scrutinize your once baked reels for signs of further shedding. In addition to short term stabilization of the binder, baking brings tape lubricants to the surface of the tape. These lubricants allow the tape to run through your transport smoothly. Unfortunately, subsequent use of baked reels depletes the lubricants. This means hydrolyzed tapes can only be baked and used 2-3 times before they are lost forever. Therefore consider dubbing your baked reels to archival formats for longer term storage. Store tapes with reels wrapped in plastic only when using silica gel packets (available at American Science & Surplus, 5696 N. Northwest Highway, Chicago, IL). Storage room temps should be an ideal 65°  with 40% relative humidity. Also, annually shuttle wind reels to "air them out".

The Eardrum spoke with Ampex, Magnetic Reference Laboratories, (the test tape people) and EAR's own Jeff Hamilton of BASF about policies concerning hydrolyzed tapes. These companies will help you with your problem tapes if you call them. Ampex's helpful Senior Product Support Engineer Jay Zacharias told The EARDRUM that Ampex will bake your shedding Ampex tapes for no charge (except shipment to Ampex). MRL Labs has a credit policy toward purchase of a new test tape (on the tape of your choice) based on the age of your shedding tape. BASF's Jeff Hamilton says that their binders in use since 1972 have experienced no breakdown problems. Jeff also notes that BASF manufactures BASF 911 test tapes as well. © Mike Konopka 1988

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